Survival Story of a Sword King - Chapter 89

Grand Maze (3)

After regaining some strength, the Clend’s team packed their bags.

They said they would leave the Katrack Dungeon and head back to Serkaltan.

Ryu Han-bin asked, worried.

“Can you get out of here safely?”

“I’m not in a position to say this, but…”

Clend straightened his shoulders.

“We’re not weak either. We can handle high-level monsters.”

Indeed, Han-bin’s group couldn’t take them outside.

All they could do was trust Clend’s team to do well on their own.

Lianna, Julius, and Anton greeted them in turns.

“Once again, thank you for your help.”

“I hope you’d be able to find the Sword King.”

“Then, good luck.”

Finally, Clend expressed courtesy.

“May the protection of the six Goddesses be with you…”

Kibie grumbled little as he looked at the back of the distant Clend’s team.

“I feel embarrassed every time I hear that. I need to get my strength back soon, hmm.”

* * *

The edge of a blazing lava lake.

A large group of Golems made up of heated rocks and lava rushed in, causing the temperature to rise.

Boom, boom, boom!

Arthur snorted as he watched them move.

“Huh.”

In his eyes, the fire giant’s status was clearly displayed.

[Race: Magma Golem lv. 70]

They were nothing against him, a level 99 Aura user.

Boom!

A purple light flashed.

It was Arthur’s Blade Aura.

Although the huge Golem was five meters tall, it was divided into three equal parts and collapsed, spilling iron mold everywhere.

On the other side of the cavern, Lesil and Jason were dealing with dozens of salamanders.

“Die and be my experience!”

Whenever Lesil waved her staff as if she was playing, level 90 high-tier spells would be evoked.

Consequently, salamanders were crushed.

Jason, a Spiritist, was also culled the salamanders by producing dozens of Ectoplasm tentacles.

Everyone looked relaxed. There was no sense of

“Though this is the Grand Maze, the high-level monsters aren’t that strong.”

It took less than a few minutes to kill the monsters of Kaltan.

After clearing up the vicinity, two individuals walked out of the passageway near the lava lake.

It was Almara and Saltus.

Almara addressed Arthur.

“I’m sorry. It’s hard to do my job in this form.”

Since entering Kaltan, many battles had been undertaken by the Aliens while the Dragons remained on the sidelines.

They couldn’t reveal their true selves.

“I don’t care. It’s good for us to get experience.”

Clapping his hands, Arthur glanced at the two Dragons.

[Race: Human. Mage Lv. 82.]

[Race: Human. Spiritist Lv. 79]

Though their levels seemed much lower than them, they still couldn’t be ignored.

Dragons’ powers were heavily reduced in their human forms.

It was normal for their levels to drop about 20 levels.

It meant that if they went back to the original body, they might be above level 100.

‘Well, they’ve been around for hundreds of years, so that’s only logical.’

He realized how powerful they were. They were like the Thunder King, The Archmage, and The Transcendental.

Although the Upper Draconium was powerful, they were eventually placed under the trio’s control and manipulation.

Their five-person team continued to march toward Kaltan Dungeon.

Lesil suddenly raised a question.

“You mean all of Latna’s Dragons belong to the Upper Draconium?”

It was a name they hadn’t heard before they were trapped in Akhtarun.

Saltus replied.

“Why are you curious?”

“How did that happen? We didn’t know what’s happening to the world since we were trapped in the Akhtarun…”

Dragons were strictly Latna’s creatures.

Did they need to be locked up like Aliens?

At the question of Lesil, Saltus smiled bitterly.

“For one, it’s to make Latna peaceful by forcefully subordinating the old Dragons.”

Of course, the real reason was to study the Dragon’s regular absorption ability to understand Aliens’ level-up characteristics.

“Even the kind Dragons that didn’t want to fight.”

Lesil was confused.

Something didn’t make sense.

“Wait, the Upper Draconium has all the old Dragons?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what happened to the kind old Dragons who never did anything against Latna’s peace?”

“There wasn’t anyone like that.”

In other words, though they only aimed for Dragons, the entire species was their target.

Lesil timidly replied.

“Then there are no good Dragons?”

“Sadly, that’s the reality.”

Saltus said that there were Dragons who weren’t able to cause accidents due to their weaknesses. There were also no powerful Dragons that had never been involved in any incidents.

“I’m a Dragon, but I can’t say that my race is good even if it’s just as a lie.”

“… Your race is scary.”

“Is that so? In our eyes, your race is much more terrifying.”

They got out of the lava lake and arrived at the next area.

It was a ruined city, full of half-broken buildings.

Suddenly Arthur gestured.

“Hold on. I can feel someone’s presence.”

A group of humans was coming their way from a distance.

It was a four-person Hunter team.

Almara asked delightedly.

“Are they members of Kybriel’s team?”

Jason shook his head in disappointment as he looked at them using distant-viewing magic.

“No, the description is completely different.”

It was the Clend’s team that barely escaped from the Katrack Dungeon.

When Clend saw the group of murderous people in front of him, he became stunned.

“What…?”

* * *

Katrack’s underground square was covered in glowing moss.

The bodies of countless monsters were scattered all over the place under the bright daylight-like ceiling.

Amid the sea of blood, where all kinds of flesh and debris floated, Kibie wiped the red fluid on her forehead slowly.

“Oh, I’ve barely got it…”

Artis groaned as his body leaned against a wall, and Effir laid down and breathed shallowly.

“Huh, hah, hah…”

Everyone was covered in wounds even though they had been treated as much as possible with healing items.

They fought a difficult battle.

Ryu Han-bin was also sweating a lot.

Although he wasn’t injured like others, he was quite exhausted.

All the fallen monsters around him were above level 90.

The weakest was also higher in level than Kibie.

They had to fight desperately.

At least, Ryu Han-bin’s power was so superior that he could have done it alone, but…

‘If they didn’t learn to fight for themselves, they would have buried their bones here…’

But they managed to get it all done.

Han-bin clicked his tongue.

“Monsters here are tough.”

“This is the Dungeon chosen by the Sword King Baotolt. It can’t be easy.”

In reply, Kibie looked across from the square.

“That’s it, isn’t it?”

They could see a large hut made out of monster bones and leather.

It didn’t look like a simple tent.

Using the Dungeon’s construction materials, its walls were properly built, and even a girdle and rafter were made.

It wasn’t built to last for a day or two, but rather it was built with the determination to make it last as long as possible.

It was obvious who owned it.

It was the residence of the Sword King Baotolt.

“I’ll check inside.”

Kibie, who jumped into the hut, immediately cast Shadow-Reading.

She kept finding clues about the Sword King.

Kibie’s complexion grew darker and darker.

Effir became anxious.

“What’s wrong, sister? Did you find any clues?”

Kibie replied in a subdued voice.

“No, I found it. I know where the Baotolt was headed.”

In the first place, the destination of the Sword King Baotolt was not Katrack Dungeon.

The reason why he had come to Katrack was simple.

It was to warm up properly before aiming for his real goal.

“… This is just his warm-up?”

“We almost died.”

Effir and Artis looked terrible.

Han-bin hastened to Kibie.

“What’s his real goal, then?”

She answered, cold sweat running down her cheeks.

“The Divine Kruse Murg.”

* * *

Even in the Grand Maze Kaltan, which was infested with all sorts of transcendental creatures, three formidable monsters were considered to be exceptionally powerful.

A golden lion, Kruse Murg.

A white silver bull, Uto Ksarik.

A bronze snake, Isch Klapim.

The estimated levels of those formidable monsters, called the Three Gods of Kaltan, were more than Level 170!

Artis and Effiir’s expressions changed.

“200 Hunters attacked Kruse Murg before. They were completely wiped out!”

“He’s going to fight it alone? He’s so reckless…”

Kibie sighed.

“Baotolt had always been reckless. That’s why he was so strong.”

Regardless, they knew that the Sword King was after Kruse Murg.

The next destination for Han-bin and his party had been decided.

“Kruce Murg travels around the bottom layer of the Kaltan’s southern part. Baotolt must be staying near its location.”

Ryu Han-bin asked.

“Can we get there on our own?”

“Finding the location wouldn’t be a problem.”

It was impossible to attack it.

At the bottom layer of the Kaltan, even the common monsters were above level 100.

Still, since they had Ryu Han-bin, it would be possible to find one person if he avoided the battle as much as possible and moved secretly.

“But if you meet Kruce Murg… That’s where your journey would end.”

Han-bin looked at Kibie with a serious expression.

Baotolt was so strong that the Goddess of Darkness trusted him so much.

‘The estimated level is 170? It’s so far away that the Goddess of Darkness can’t feel it.’

Han-bin might’ve had to be prepared to die.

Ryu Han-bin looked back and forth at Artis and Effir.

Kibie had a clear goal of regaining his divinity and returning Han-bin to Earth.

On the other hand, Artis and Effir didn’t have such an earnest goal.

They just came all the way there to help him.

“Why don’t you two go back to Serkaltan now?”

Artis snorted.

“You want me to turn my back on you now? I’m not disloyal.”

The same was true of Effir.

“How much energy have I been getting from you? I have to pay that back. If Kibie couldn’t go back to being a Goddess, the world would end. My life would be over anyway.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Looking back at Kibie, Ryu Han-bin smiled.

“With that out of the way, let’s finish what we started.”

* * *

Clend was shedding tears of blood.

‘Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!’

Julius, Lianna, and Anton were all dead.

It was neither out of dispute or disrespect.

They killed his colleagues relentlessly just because they wanted to.

There was only one reason why he was still alive.

“Is it here?”

Saltus asked, standing in the hallway filled with the bodies of the Abyssal Wolves.

“… Yes.”

Saltus began to search all over the hall.

According to Clend, the silver-haired Magic Swordsman was slightly injured during the battle.

‘She must have shed blood somewhere.’

After a while, he smiled brightly.

“Found it, the incarnation’s blood. It’s still fresh. This is enough for me to use tracking.”

The men looked at Clend.

They had kept him alive for guidance, but they didn’t need him anymore.

Lesil smiled and asked.

“Should we kill him?”

Jason answered casually.

“Turn on party mode and kill him.”

“Of course, I will.”

With an explosion, Clend’s head was smashed, causing his brain to splatter.

The three Aliens trembled with flushed faces.

“Huh!”

“Hahaha…”

“Oh, good. He was at level 80. The reward for him is amazing.”

Clicking his tongue, Almara turned away from the sight.

“… Crazy people.”